Chapter 368: Father And Daughter
67th Avenue.
The distance between the Central District and 67th Avenue spanned half of Norzin, yet appeared incomparably small when viewed from high up the sky. High above, a giant cloud swirl had formed, covering everything. As darkness akin to night fell, an unstoppable blizzard that had been brewing for a long time descended.
"Notice for all residents. Please do not go out during the snowstorm. Please do not go out during snowstorms…"
"The meteorological department has issued a red blizzard warning. The first blizzard in the history of Norzin has arrived. The Central District strictly forbids residents from going outside..."
Warning alarms blared on television and radio throughout Norzin.
However, unlike the storm a few months ago, the Central District did not carry out any evacuation of residents this time around. Instead, they were forced to stay put wherever they were.
A battle between two Supreme-rank powerhouses wouldn"t stop because of small fry. If things really got carried away, not even a blade of gra.s.s would remain wherever the aether reached. The only thing the Central District could do…
"I"m afraid we"ll have to awaken that individual in the Central District."
Winston"s fists were clenched as he watched the two ma.s.ses of glowing aetheric energy colliding like two supernovas, creating a wave of light that could easily blind one"s eyes.
After that flash, aetheric waves rippled out, like tsunamis threatening to flatten everything.
The man-made city of steel containing countless lives shattered like gla.s.s in the face of this battle between the two Supreme-ranks.
Is this the extreme limit of humans... or are Joseph and Wilde even humans at this point?
Winston was overcome with many complex emotions as he watched the blood and flesh flying around in the storm.
Fear, awe, worry...
As the Dream Creator had been activated some time ago, the entire battle was on the fringes of the dream realm and wouldn"t affect reality for the time being. Therefore, the b.l.o.o.d.y storm wasn"t truly made up from the blood, tears, and bones of Secret Rite Tower knights and Corpse Devouring Sect believers.
However, these torn pieces of flesh had become the best sacrificial offerings for Wilde, allowing his evil power to swell time and time again.
Winston watched as sword-wielding knights charged at the Corpse Devouring Sect disciples who were now like mindless zombies, sacrificing themselves time and time again like a meat grinder.
Winston"s heart was heavy. He trembled occasionally and couldn"t bear to watch on, but he still had to repeatedly give the order to charge.
He recalled the words he had said to Greg and now repeated them to himself.
Everything was for Secret Rite Tower"s goal.
He glanced at his communications device. On the opposite end had been Greg, and also that bookstore owner.
A while ago, Greg seemed to have encountered an unexpected situation and hung up. Now it was all radio silence.
Is such a battle not enough to make Boss Lin look over? Or perhaps "he" is happy to see such an outcome?
That bookstore owner shouldn"t...shouldn"t be like this.
In his daze, he seemed to see his old friend Joseph"s reverence and dependence on the bookstore owner…
Joseph had been so blindly devoted to the bookstore owner, but the latter was just watching coldly from the sidelines.
No… Winston shook his head. Joseph has always been loyal to the Tower. Contacting the owner of the bookstore was essentially our order.
The Tower was trying to get on the bookstore owner"s good side. So, if the bookstore owner really wanted Joseph dead, would the Tower choose to give up Joseph who has been loyal for so many years?
Winston didn"t dwell on it. He felt himself getting the chills as he pulled himself back from his thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the girl at the side.
Melissa, the girl who essentially grew up in Secret Rite Tower, was looking at the distant battlefield in a daze.
Her father was in the eye of the storm.
The chaotic aether field was like a meat grinder, instantly crushing everything into pieces and sending everything flying into the sky as a rain of blood and broken bones.
Winston tried to comfort her. "Don"t worry, Melissa. Things are looking up…"
He wasn"t lying. Although he couldn"t see what was going on in the center of the battlefield, those white flames that had been doing their utmost to stop the spread of those shadowy black tentacles had already started to counterattack. The previous one-sided situation had been reversed.
It all seemed to be taking a turn of the better.
"No, no…" The girl had started to be distraught a while ago, her expression alternating between one of confusion and panic. At this moment, her eyes widened as she shook her head violently. Then, grabbing her chest tightly, she actually turned and tried to make a dash toward the center of the battlefield.
"Melissa!" The Combat Division chief rushed forward to grab her. "What are you trying to do? Going now would only distract your father!"
Melissa struggled and wailed. "I"m going to save my father!"
Winston"s tone was austere. Although he had always been mostly cordial with Joseph, he had never been anything but kind to his friend"s daughter. But right now, his expression was deathly gloomy. "You would be rushing to your death! Think carefully about your ident.i.ty. Think about Vivian who sacrificed herself to save you. Your father is fighting to protect you. What are you trying to do?!"
"I know! I know!" cried out Melissa, who also had to shout at the top of her lungs to be heard over the ma.s.sive din of the battlefield.
The usually strong young female knight sounded like she was about to cry.
"I know that others have sacrificed themselves for me, and I know that we shouldn"t continue to get more people killed. I know too that I"m the daughter of a Radiant Knight. I ought to consider the bigger picture, but I"m also Joseph"s daughter. I can feel that...
"I can feel that my father is about to die..." Finally unable to control her tears, Melissa sobbed.
Die? Could it be...
Winston jerked his head toward the center of the battlefield.
The senses of transcendent beings were never false, not to mention that Joseph had now ascended to Supreme-rank, greatly increasing his mysticism. It was definitely possible for Melissa, who was connected by blood, to sense something that was about to happen.
Which also meant...
Ordinary-level transcendent beings couldn"t see what was happening on the battlefield shrouded by aether, but Winston could vaguely perceive the terrifying outcome that seemed to be gradually unfolding.
Crack—
The boundary set up by the Dream Creator started to break apart as jagged cracks spread rapidly, the surging torrent of aether tearing at the fabric between dream and reality.
Winston was taken aback and loosened his grip for a moment. Melissa broke free and immediately rushed toward the battlefield without a care.
"Melissa!"
The girl wasn"t afraid of death. She had only one simple thought in her mind—I want to save my father.
However, as Melissa was charging forward, she saw Secret Rite Tower knights and Corpse Devouring Sect believers retreating as if they had just witnessed something absolutely terrifying.
Those Corpse Devouring Sect members that had already lost their rationality completely ignored Melissa, and some were even scrambling away on all fours.
Melissa pushed through the crowd, pa.s.sing through the dissipated boundary of the Dream Creator as well as the scattered aether, rushing to the center of the battlefield. Witnessing the scene before her made her eyes widen in shock—
Amidst the majestic backdrop that resembled an abyss colliding with the sky, many jet-black tentacles stretched out from the cracked ground, twisting together into an indescribable behemoth. A horrifying and sickly aura tainted the entire battlefield.
The ground began to tremble with the huge creature at the epicenter. A shockwave that seemed to shatter the earth and sky burst forth, causing cracks to appear all over the ground.
Wilde had already completed yet another breakthrough.
The sight of those tentacles made Melissa"s ears ring with mysterious whispers crying out and shaking her soul.
She suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with filth, covered her ears, and half-knelt.
Father… she cried out helplessly in her heart.